In his recent blog, Ian mentioned Digger Alley was quiet, with no sign of any of the residents just yet. Just a day or two later however, and this year's early pioneers are putting in an appearance. First of all, your eye is caught by a bee on a flower.
Nothing unusual about that, but there's something not quite right, it's flying down to the ground. Hang on, I think that's a Cliff Mining bee - in the path. Well, OK, this is Minsmere!
Whilst I'm not 100% certain about that Cliff Miner, there's no doubt about this little lady - yes, the Pantaloons are back!
And not just the girls - the boys are around too
Ahem, well, ok, there's a female in there somewhere, he appears to be keen to get acquainted! Come out where we can...Ah, that's better
The lurid coloured eyes of our next visitor can mean only one thing - the diminutive Green Eyed Flower Bees are around too - this one's a male I believe, with the yellow base to the antenna
Keen not to be left out, the Ornate Tailed Digger Wasp popped out to say hello as well
And a male Beewolf was searching for the girls, although they're a bit elusive so far
Needless to say, the Jewel Wasps aren't far behind
But the award for the day's weirdest photo must surely go to Mrs WJ who caught this grasshopper. This pink grasshopper! It's a rare genetic mutation called erythrism apparently!
It's always important to look closely at what's nearby - though it can take you a looooong while to get anywhere! Mrs WJ was rather taken with the eyelashes on this fly for example...